The old woman should have just given her a list of rules rather than bombard her with a load of expectations all at once. Hanji desperately wished she had remembered to bring a notebook which was one of the things she always kept in her bag but surprisingly forgot to carry with her on her first day to work.
"Daeul is to arise at eight in the morning and head straight to bed no later than eight-thirty in the evening.", the woman whose name she was now aware of, Missus Song-I Chae who was the head housekeeper but preferred to be called Missus Chae, continued as she led Hanji through a tour of the large estate, beginning with the kitchen and dining room. Her eyes widened at the large stove and counters which she knew were reserved for the two cooks in the house, both whom she had yet to be introduced to.
As they crossed the dining room floor where she had her interview, Missus Chae led her up the wooden stairs and stopped at the seventh step upon hearing a creak. Hanji held her breath, eyes wide as she wondered why the woman had stopped.
"Mister Song!", she yelled and in rushed a man who seemed to be only a few years younger than the elder woman, wearing a plain blue t-shirt and denim jeans.
"Y-Yes, Missus Chae?", his voice shook.
The old woman turned slowly to face him, a stern look on her face almost scaring Hanji.
"I though I told you to fix these steps as soon as possible. We wouldn't want the boy nor his father to fall now, would we?", she said in one of those calm tones which were always the scariest to deal with.
The young Hanji's mouth held agape, fearing for the man at the bottom of the stairs. He nodded quickly, muttering a small apology and reassuring her that the deed would be done before rushing quickly to the back of the house.
Missus Chae glanced at Hanji before proceeding up the stairs. The younger female exhaled slowly and quietly, already knowing that she and the elder woman would have a difficult time getting along.
They had finally reached the second floor and stood in front of a white door.
"This is Daeul's bedroom -- he is not to be in here unless it's the morning or his bedtime. Mister Kwon prefers his son spend his time in his playroom downstairs where he can learn and interact with others.", the housekeeper said as she slowly opened the door, revealing four pale blue walls with a bed set of a darker shade of the same colour.
Next to the small bed stood a black nightstand with a plain white lamp and on the bed itself, a familiar doll.
Hanji furrowed her brows upon examining the doll -- it was the same pink stuffed doll, an animal she was unable to distinguish. She remembered the day of her interview and having seen the doll on the sidewalk and the little boy who picked it up, along with the snobby man whom she thought was unfit to be a parent.
Before she had time to ask Missus Chae about it and the playroom which she had yet to see, she heard the sound of the glass door opening along with voices on the lower floor. Missus Chae seemed to have heard it too as she quickly rushed Hanji out of the room and down the stairs.
"Mister Kwon has returned early, Hanji. Now's the time you meet him and his son so fix yourself.", she warned through her teeth as they almost tripped on one another on the staircase.
Upon reaching the bottom floor, Hanji dusted off her black and white Peter Pan-collared blouse and paper-bag pants. Before her stood a small boy who much like the doll upstairs, looked all too familiar.
He was mid-removing his shoes with the help of another housekeeper because although the Kwons were wealthy, they were still Asian and dirty shoes meant more work for the helpers especially with the little boy who enjoyed running about. Well at least that's what Missus Chae had told Hanji.
"Oh?", he pointed at Hanji with his mouth slightly open, making her widen her eyes in surprise.
Th-This kid?, she thought to herself.
Daeul remained shocked at the sight of Hanji which she interpreted as him having remembered her too.
Wait. That means...
"I'm going back to the studio right away, he wasn't going to come home unless I came along to drop him off...", she heard a deep voice say to Missus Chae.
Her heart pounded heavily, her palms sweated and her breathing staggered as the voice got closer and closer. She prayed ever so quickly in her head that it would not be the person she had in mind -- that her new employer was not the man she --
"Hyuk, this is Oh Hanji -- Daeul's new caretaker.", the elder housekeeper introduced.
Hanji cursed mentally, keeping her eyes low and even afraid to make eye contact with the little boy. She knew all eyes were on her but feared to face the man in front of her, and even the sight of his black dress shoes frightened her.
It was not until she heard the elder woman whisper her name did she slowly lift her head up, meeting his eyes. She gulped loudly, knowing her assumptions were correct and he was indeed the man whom she had told off days before.
She could practically hear her sister's voice scolding her, right then and there. Minji would say, "Nice going, idiot girl! Say bye-bye to England."
Surprisingly, the man in front of her held a blank expression on his face. His narrow eyes looking deeply into hers, making her feel unsure of what he could have been thinking. His hands rested in his black dress-pants which complimented his solid gray short-sleeved top, exposing his arms.
Everything about him seemed even more intimidating -- his tall posture, dark brown hair tied into a bun with a few lose curls hanging down his temples, his chiseled facial features.
"G-Good morning, sir. My, my name is Oh Hanji, your son Daeul's new c-caretaker.", she spoke softly as she bowed slightly.
For a while it was nothing but awkward silence -- he had no reaction and didn't utter a word. Instead, he stared at her with the same blank expression before chuckling lightly which displayed the top of his perfect set of teeth.
"Missus Chae, will you take Daeul to the playroom please?", he asked lightly, making the said woman act quickly to lead the boy away.
Oh, gosh this is it, Hanji said to herself once they were alone.
"I am so sorry, Mister Kwon!", she bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle, showing her respect and sincerity before the man. She waited a few seconds before straightening her posture once more and fixed her brown curly hair.
He grinned slightly, taking a few steps closer to her with his hands still in his pockets. Tilting his head, he sighed lightly.
"Welcome, Miss Oh. I'm sure you'll teach me what you believe parenting is."
--
Fun Story Fact #3:
In the story, Daeul's birthday is on February 21, 2017 rather than 2014 (real life), making him only two years-old
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Daeul - Kwon Hyuk
Fanfiction"Know your place! You're his nanny, not his mother." In which he raises a child. This story is inspired by Lee Daeul from The Return of Superman. no copyright intended.
